


It Takes Two

by yorkes



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: F/M, sorry Tim you were nice but you serve a greater purpose in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 08:14:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7500813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yorkes/pseuds/yorkes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Davina's in desperate need of a dance partner (Ballroom Dancing AU).</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Takes Two

**Author's Note:**

> A day after posting this, I'm off on exchange to a different hemisphere! This one shot was sitting in my docs for three months, barely getting worked on, until tonight when I added 4k words and posted it. So don't take it too seriously, because I haven't polished it too closely, but I wanted to post something before I left. Enjoy! And let me know if you like it because comments give me so much joy.

At first the whole amateur ballroom dancing thing had been a fun couples activity.

Well, Davina saw it as fun. Tim saw as it as a way to make Davina happy, even though he had his hands full with his prestigious music program already. The issue was that he only showed up half the time, and even then it was thirty minutes late. He had solid excuses, whether it be homework or class or some amazing chance to meet a world renowned violinist, but it’s hard to be reasonable when your boyfriend stands you up repeatedly

The fun was gone when Tim broke up with her. Partial reasoning being because the _ it’s not you it’s me _ speech never makes anything better; the rest being what happened as a result of the break up. 

“You know, D, as much as I love seeing you everyday, things are getting a little cramped,” Marcel Gerard said to her, once a blonde finished tip toeing out his apartment. Davina didn't want to think about how to resolve that issue. Crashing on a friend’s couch is easy on the wallet, but tough on everything else. 

“Well, Rebekah doesn’t have to sneak out for my sake,”  Davina joked, knowing was hardly alleviating the pins and needles situations. The blonde’s name was Rebekah Mikaelson, and her brother Klaus happened to be Marcel’s roommate and friend of five years. After rubbing her sleepy eyes, she quickly added, “but really, truly, thanks again. I promise I’ll be out of here as soon as possible.”

Marcel shook his head, looking over Davina’s to make sure the aforementioned brother had to yet to return home. 

“You know you can stay here as long as you need to,” he assured her, “I can also totally kick Tim’s ass.” Davina laughed at the idea, but she couldn’t quite get behind it. Sure, Davina was angry about the situation, as much as anyone would be over getting dumped for a violin, but she knew where her former boyfriend had been coming from. He had talent and needed to focus his time on it. 

It just was unfortunate that Tim couldn’t figure out that Davina didn’t factor into his musical goals a year earlier, before he signed a lease in his name with both of their money. 

“As soon as I get the money for a deposit on a new place I’ll be out of here. Promise.” 

And that’s how the whole amateur ballroom dance thing became more of a necessity. First prize at a local competition was five grand, and while Davina couldn’t hope for that, the second place prize took home half of that. Bartending tips and the salary along with it could pay her rent, but she needed a push to dig herself out of advance payments on her old apartment.

The problem in the situation being that Davina was down a dance partner as well as a place to live. 

“Any luck in your pursuit?” Marcel asked, “And you know I’d volunteer if I had the time but-”

“I know. Thank you, making sure I’m not homeless is more than enough,” she assured. He was in grad school and had more than enough on his plate. He was already dressed for what she assumed to be an interview. It was then when she realized he kept glancing at the clock, so she waved him away. “Go make sure you can afford to keep a guest!”

Marcel gave her a nod before grabbing his stuff and disappearing out the door. Davina was about to settle back into her makeshift bed, which was surprisingly comfy for it’s size. Marcel’s shared apartment had a small common area where the kitchen and a small tv were located, along with her couch. Her almost sleep was interrupted by a knock on the door, almost immediately followed by a twist on the doorknob. 

“Come on, Nik. Open up.” 

Davina seriously debated ignoring the accented voice who could only have belonged to one of Klaus, or Niklaus’, brothers (she had once referred to Klaus as Nik after hearing Rebekah use it, and he didn’t receive it well). The knocking and shouting continued as she sat still though, forcing her to get up.

“Hello,” she greeted, opening the door just as the guy’s fist hit the wood. Needless to say there was a lacking of cheer in her voice.

“Davina? You’re not Nik,” he stated, dropping his sight line down about a foot to stare at the petite brunette in the doorway. 

Her second wake up call was the brother by the name of Kol. He was an undergrad at the university too, but she hardly knew him other than in passing at parties or at the bar she worked at. He’d flirted with her a few times when Tim wasn’t around. 

“No, Kol, I am not,” she told him, shaking her head. “Your brother hasn’t been home since yesterday morning.” 

“Oh, well that’s just great,” Kol muttered, laced with sarcasm. “He was with Aurora last night so who the hell knows where he is now.” 

Davina nodded in some sort of agreement. She had heard enough from Marcel to know Aurora was never good news. She drifted in and out of town, and for the few days she was back Klaus was basically dead to the world. 

“Um, sorry, but is there a reason you’re here?” Davina inquired after Kol continued in standing there. 

“He-Nik, took my phone,” he answered without missing a beat, before his expression shifted. “Wait, why are  _ you _ here?” he reversed, brows furrowed. 

“Marcel’s letting me crash here for a few days,” she quickly responded. Hoping she wouldn’t have to recount her breakup she switched the topic. “You know, you should’ve come here ten minutes sooner. You just missed Rebekah sneaking out.”

Kol laughed. Everyone knew Marcel and Rebekah were seeing each other besides Klaus. From Marcel’s perspective, Kol only accepted it because the last time he tried to stop Rebekah from dating someone she stopped speaking to him. Marcel never cared to explain why there was an animosity between himself and Klaus’ younger brother. 

“Well, darling, I’d stay and chat but I’ve got practice. Let me know if he shows up,” he asked, with a quick wave goodbye. 

“How?” The question popped out before she could stop herself. Purely innocent. It was a reasonable question, he didn’t have a phone, but it was only adding to the talk that was delaying her sleep. Internally, Davina was chastising herself. 

Kol paused mid step, his brows no longer furrowed but raised. 

“I guess I could just find you,” he offered, but the grin he wore suggested she had just opened up an entirely different conversation. “You working tonight?” 

Davina stood silent, as she wasn’t sure what to say. Kol interpreted her silence differently. 

“Ah, I forgot. Boyfriend right? Scrawny fellow.” He sounded disappointed, though she hardly imagined she looked like she'd be an enticing prospect in her slept in ponytail and tee shirt. 

Davina shook her head, “No. Good memory but not anymore. That’s why… ”

Kol connected the dots where she trailed off. 

“So, are you working tonight?” he asked again, this time with a renewed vigor. 

Davina nodded. She had Cami cover her shift the previous night, wanting Marcel’s apartment to herself to wallow, but she couldn’t get two weekend nights in a row off. 

“I’ll stop by Rousseau's tonight then,” he said, “to check on Klaus’ status of course.”

“Of course,” she mimicked, but she was already moving to close the door. Kol had always been undeniably cute, but she didn’t need a rebound. 

As soon as the door clicked shut her mind shifted back to more a pressing matter; sleeping to avoid her financial situation.

 

* * *

 

Davina could always tell when someone wasn’t from the area, strictly based off of their reaction to her mixing them a drink. 

“I’m nineteen. And yes, it’s legal in the state of Louisiana,” she said, yet again to an older couple giving her an odd look. A toothy smile with it offset the bite in her voice. She was used to it, but it got old when she was forced to go into q and a’s about bartending under twenty one. 

Luckily for her the couple moved on with their mixed drinks, and she was left to listen to the live music of the night. Live music used to be her thing with Tim when they were younger, but that along her became too much to handle. 

“Davina,” a familiar voice sang, ripping the girl in question’s attention from the local band. Camille O’Connell, Davina’s fellow bartender and friend, motioned towards the other end of the bar. “A customer’s requesting you be the one to get him a drink.”

Davina glanced down to see Kol had followed through on his word. 

“Well, I’d ask if you come here often but that would be too obvious of a pick up line,” he greeted, flashing a smile. 

“Klaus didn’t show up,” she informed, and she’d asked around out of sheer curiosity. Kol would have to live without his phone until Aurora left town, or if Klaus somehow tore himself away. “Want a drink to drown out the disappointment?”

Kol hardly seemed upset, but took her up on the offer (leading to a clarification from Davina that the offer wasn’t on the house). 

“Tips are appreciated too,” she tacked on, intended to be joking, but giving away her issue. Kol slid cash onto the bar in exchange for bourbon, and when she went to put the money away she saw he’d already slid a tip in. “Thanks,” she told him, sincerely this time. 

“What can I say, darling. The service is great.”

“Don’t call me darling. Referring to a girl by name tends to be a better method,” she suggested, getting a shrug from Kol. She may not have known much about him but she knew he had a fondness for adding on the pet name in any and every conversation. Arguably it was better than Klaus’ penchant for calling girls ‘tax

love’, but barely.

After Kol put on a faux look of hurt, she turned her attention to another customer, this one also a regular. Josh was shaking off confusion when his best friend looked his way. 

“Don’t ask,” she muttered low enough that Kol couldn’t hear. 

“Wasn’t gonna,” Josh replied, equally low, but raising the volume up an octave for his next words. “I am however here to regretfully inform you I cannot be your dance partner.”

“I didn’t ask you,” was Davina’s response. 

“But you were going to,” Josh said, without an ounce of uncertainty. “Marcel told me about the competition and how Tim didn’t have time for it-” he saw Davina frown “-oh sorry, or you in general.” 

“Thanks for the reminder,” she delivered monotonically. “But, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, I wasn’t going to ask you. You know you can’t dance to save your life.” She saw Josh open his mouth to protest, and started talking before he could. “Club dancing involves bouncing and grinding. I need someone who can manage a little more finesse if I’m gonna win big.” 

“Ouch,” he managed, reaching for the beer Davina had gotten him. All she could do was shrug, because Josh really was too awful to even consider. 

A coughing fit quickly ensued, with Kol behind it. 

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I am about two feet away from you two, and I happen to be an excellent dancer.” Davina’s ears perked up.

“Know any ballroom?” she asked, showing the first genuine interest in him the entire day.

“More than I care to admit,” Kol answered, “my mother enrolled our whole family in lessons for a number of years.” It had never come in handy much for how much Kol despised the lessons, but he guessed everything pays off eventually. 

Davina seemed hesitant to say anything, but he immediately noticed a change in her behavior. 

“You’re being serious right. You’re not just trying to flirt with me,” she pressed. 

“Trying? I thought I was more charming than that,” he retorted, “but yes. For once I am being one hundred percent serious.” Davina swallowed hard, looking over to Josh for any guidance on the matter. Helpfully, he was looking at his phone.

“What would you say if I needed a dance partner for a ballroom competition? We’d have to practice everyday and the competition’s next Saturday. I’d be keeping the money I aim to win.” Davina bit down on her tongue before launching into further specifics. Kol was quickly shaping out to be the best- no, only possibility in her days long search, and the proposition wasn’t exactly the most alluring.

Kol probably should’ve given more thought to if he had any existing commitments, but his response was quick and definite. He’d barely had anything to drink so he couldn’t dismiss it as a drunken mistake, instead he was motivated by the sheer hope radiating from the girl from of him.

“When’s the first practice?”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” she said, trying not to look too pleased. Kol had just given her optimism for the first time in several days, but she couldn’t feed his ego. Considering what he’d just agreed to, she shot him a thankful smile. “Oh, and bring your dancing shoes.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh Kol, of course, break into my apartment will you?” Elijah Mikaelson asked his youngest brother, only to realize Rebekah was there as well. 

“You hid your spare key on your door sill. Honestly, it was going to happen some day,” Kol offered, disappearing back into his brother’s closet, “might as well have been by me.”

Elijah looked to Rebekah for a further reasoning for why she who was sitting in his kitchen, amused with a Kol who was darting around Elijah’s home. 

“Kol needed something resembling dance shoes, and figured he might as well borrow some rather than buy them,” she half explained. There wasn’t much logic in that, considering Elijah was out of their way on the other side of town and they couldn’t be sure he had any, but she indulged him on a boring Sunday morning. Her theory was that Kol desperately wanted someone to ask him why he was in such a rush to get the shoes, but she hadn’t wanted to give him the satisfaction. That was three hours earlier though, and she made no attempts to stop Elijah from asking. 

“I don’t have any, brother,” Elijah called out, luring Kol from his scavenging, “and if I did, why on earth would you need them? You hated having to go to those lessons, in fact, I think you skipped half of them.” 

“On the contrary, I hated being forced to take lessons,” he answered, appearing empty handed. “But I wasn’t completely awful at it, and who am I to deny a beautiful woman in need of my expertise.” 

“Bloody hell, Kol,” Rebekah swore, “is this about Davina.” Marcel had given her the watered down version of why she was staying with him, but Davina had lamented her lack of options to Rebekah personally.

“If it was?” Kol asked, pulling out his phone to look up where he could find the type of shoe he needed. Rebekah sighed before answering him.

“The girl just broke up with her boyfriend of four years. From a little math I’m going to assume this is her first real breakup and-”

“And?” Kol challenged. “I’m a good shoulder to cry on.”

“Exactly,” Rebekah delivered flatly. “But seriously, Kol, I like Davina. Don’t scare her off,” she warned, “besides, if you do, I’m certain Marcel will run you out of town.”

“Noted.” Kol registered her words vaguely, stumbling upon a shop only few blocks from campus. “Thanks for the hospitality, Elijah,” he said on his way out of the door.

Rebekah was shaking her head, throwing her things haphazardly back into purse to try and keep up. Kol has asked her enough questions about Davina in the past to set off some alarms, but Rebekah waved them off knowing Davina was off the market. 

“Davina? Why do I know that name?” Elijah asked, hoping to catch Rebekah before she left. 

“You? Don’t know, but I have a feeling you’re about to hear it a lot more-” Rebekah paused in thought “at least for a week or so.”

 

* * *

 

“We have a slight issue, here.” Davina paused the music that had been playing, a song off of a jive playlist on youtube, and looked Kol straight in the eye. “You are way better than me,” she promptly addressed, “and you even fessed up that you haven’t done this in years.”

“Well, flattery will get you everywhere, dar-” an immediate glare stopped him from finishing the word. “ _ But _ ,” he continued, “you aren’t half bad. You just need more practice.” 

“And you seriously remember all these dances?” she asked, apprehensively. She would’ve made a bad joke about not remembering what she ate yesterday, but she did. Marcel’s endless supply of ramen was surprising when she first crashed at his place, but she chose it over his green health foods day after day. 

“Muscle memory. And I may have looked up a few on youtube this morning as a refresher,” he admitted, pushing away chair to his left. Davina had suggested they practice down at the college's fitness center, where they could use a workout room for a couple of hours. Kol politely denied that very public area, and offered his loft be used instead. It wasn’t huge, but what space there was formed itself into a convenient rectangle with just enough room for dancing. 

“If that,” she started, motioning to him, “is muscle memory, I need to ask for a refund on my six months of classes.” 

“You're not bad!” Kol assured, and he meant it. He moved over to grab her phone, typing something new in the search bar. “If I hadn't blocked out most of my own lessons, I could probably relay a whole speech about a good ballroom dancer is only okay like two good dancers together are just okay as well, but two decent dancers who can dance in harmony are great.” 

He looked up from her phone and a new playlist to see Davina with a bemused smile and interested eyes. 

“If I didn't know better, I would say that was the whole speech you were once given,” she offered, and Kol shot her a look. “But I guess I know better,” she added, when he looked back down to pick a song. 

“We can try jive again later, let’s do something simpler,” he told her as the beat of a ramba came on. 

“You talk a lot of Latin ballroom from a guy whose family throws formal balls. I was expecting standard.” 

“Stop anticipating then,” he offered up as a piece of advice, and as she stepped into form with him she wondered if that a dig at her tendency to try to lead. 

Davina then focused on getting her steps right, wishing that Kol was shorter and she was taller so that she wouldn’t have had to dig out her deathly dance heels. They were the pair Tim had bought her after they had their first free dance lesson, but they reflected that overly enthusiastic night. They were at a height only seasoned dancers wore and thin like stilettos. When she went back to the store a week later with bruises and an almost sprained ankle, the girl working had laughed and directed her to tasteful Cuban heels that were barely more than kitten heels. The type beginners wore. 

Tim refused to return the original ones, saying they were a goal for her, but she hadn't touched them until she registered the issue of her and Kol’s height difference. They looked great when they weren't tripping her over, and avoiding that took partial concentration.

“Don't think too much,” Kol muttered, and he didn't have to say at full volume because he was right next to her, but the hushed tone made it seem more intimate than it should've been. “You look like you’re trying to solve a math equation,” he continued, the same tone losing it’s hushed mystery when the word math was brought in.

Davina realized then she was staring at her feet, and shot her eyes up. 

“You knows the moves, you know you do, it's just doing them with someone new,” he reminded her, shrugging. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled, forcing herself to look him in the the eyes, just inches away from her own. Kol gripped a little tighter onto her arms, but they were paused as the music continued on without them. “It's just a little weird doing this with someone who isn't Tim. It was kinda our thing,” she said, half and excuse then half something Davina couldn't place.

Kol’s grip loosened, his eyes wavered. 

“Well, more my thing I dragged him into. He didn't really try,” she admitted after giving it a second thought, voice breaking towards the end. 

Kol’s eyes were back, with more sympathy. 

“I know we’ve only been at this for like an hour, but snack break?” Davina asked, worsened mood flavoring her voice. She mostly just wanted to move away from Kol so he couldn't see her so upset, and practice still called for close quarters. She hasn't cried once the entire week since her breakup, and it was all catching up to her. 

“Yeah, course, you're the boss,” he told her as he dropped his grip, pretending she didn't sound like her puppy just died. “I know a smoothie place.”

Davina was partly grateful that Kol was ignoring what was he witnessing, a delayed breakdown, but another part of her just wanted him to ask so she could get everything off her chest. By the time one of them spoke, the ramba song they were dancing to had become two songs ago in the lofty silence, and she was turned away with tears welling up. 

“Maybe ice cream would be better?” 

And with that suggestion, the pair ended up in a chilly ice cream parlor, complete with pastel walls and two dozen flavors.

Rebekah had warned Kol that Davina was freshly broken up from what Bex insisted was a serious relationship, but Kol didn't realize how serious until he saw Davina spoon into a mini pile of mint chocolate chip. She was in between anguish and anger while talking about Tim, and Kol tried to keep up with nodding at all the right times.

“I don't even have a real reason to be mad at him, God. I've been complaining about a really nice guy for at least two hours just because he has a serious career to worry about and I'm saying he's selfish,” she said between bites, looking even sadder than before. This soundbite stirred Kol from his silent listening quickly though. 

“You're not selfish for wanting a boyfriend who pays attention to you,” Kol asserted, “and genuinely nice guy wouldn't continue dating a girl when he cared more about his guitar-” 

“Violin,” she quickly corrected.

“Whatever, what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't feel bad, what he did was shitty, stringing you along. He basically made you homeless, extra shitty. Tim was not a nice guy nor a nice boyfriend.” Kol took a sip of his chocolate milkshake as if he hadn’t just given her a new perspective. His eyes peered up as she looked at her hands a little dumbly; he could handle her complaining about the guy, but he couldn’t nod and agree with her guilting herself.

Davina wiped at her teary eyes before they fell. She knew Tim wasn't an awful person it sure made her feel better to hear someone say he wasn't an untouchable amazing protege.

“That makes me feel better,” she admitted, giving a weak smile. Kol started to return that smile before she tacked on a, “but he really is a nice guy I shouldn’t be so harsh.” With that, his smile dropped, and he set his shake down.

“Come on, Davina, you don’t have to be so cordial after a breakup. Being broken up with gives you a right to be extra harsh, you don’t owe the other person anything. And if there’s one thing you take away from this, it’s that nice guys are hardly ever as nice you give them credit for. I won’t say Tim isn’t a polite and kind person who respected you most of the time, because I don’t really know him, but I do know that any nice person out there - guy, girl - is just an issue in a relationship. They can never ever be as nice as they appear to be. The guy in the rom com who follows the girl who isn’t interested across the country, he’s always a really nice guy right? But he also just stalked someone. Crimes aren’t committed by nice guys.” Kol delivered this all very matter of fact, as if he were teaching a lesson in physics. “Tim wasn’t a nice guy, he was just a guy who was nice to you for a very long time and then wasn’t. If he was truly so wonderful he would’ve at least given you the option of staying in your apartment.”

Davina was still as Kol finished up his speech with an additional shrug. Understandably, as it was unexpected for someone who she couldn’t ever pinpoint as to be being in a relationship being so knowledgeable. 

“Relationship advice from Kol Mikaelson,” she mused, wrinkling her brows for a moment, “interesting.” Kol laughed, looking thoughtful himself for a moment.

“I have six siblings, and I’ve seen them fuck up more often than they get things right. I have tons of second hand knowledge from six walks of life, not to mention the additional walk of my own. I have great advice, it’s just that no one listens to me so I don’t have that advice giver reputation.”

Davina genuinely laughed, and Kol noted that she had a very nice laugh to go with her also very smile. A combination like that had no right being sad when Davina looked like a ray of sunshine happy. That smile contorted along with the rest of her face into a look of forced dismay, startling him to look up from her mouth to her eyes. 

“Oh no, this where you go onto to say you’re the opposite of a nice guy which is why you’re the perfect rebound.” She had deadpanned this, not sure even herself is was teasing or not. 

“Well, as flattered as I am that you think, and I’m using your words here, than I’m  _ the _ perfect rebound, I wouldn’t say I’m that the opposite of a nice guy. Not quite a 180 from it, more a nice 120 on a good day.” He hadn’t worked out the whole nice guy theory before, so he was just spitting words to keep Davina from her confusing praise, rant, praise of Tim. 

“What’s a bad day?” With that question she took a less depressing bite of her dessert, looking much more upbeat even though her head was still balanced on her hand. She didn’t know much about Kol other than a few fast facts; he was on the school’s baseball team, he didn’t discriminate with his alcohol, and that he was surprisingly good at ballroom dancing. 

“Oh, no need to worry yourself with that,” Kol shook his head, “with the way this is going, Davina Claire, you won’t see me on a bad day. I’m liking you too much.”

Slowly her head moved away from it’s perch, straightening her posture in the process. Even seated Kol dwarfed her. 

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” she gave him, gathering her stuff. He looked pleased with the compliment. “And more good days are good, because I just wasted valuable training time talking about myself and we’ll have to make up for lost time. My fault, sorry, but in my defense you let it happen.”

He didn’t look thrilled with the change in subject, but he followed her lead.

“Just write it off as partner bonding, that’s vital to any winning pair.”

She paused slinging her bag over her shoulder to give him a pointed look. 

“I’m not sure if you’re making up this stuff, or had a great memory as a kid.” The probable answer was the earlier, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t check out, so she was gonna run with it. “So, are up for a little more practice? My schedule’s booked with classes tomorrow and even though it’s off season for baseball I’m assuming you have practices of a different kind.” 

He nodded in agreement, agreeing to a bit more practice that night. He had an optional workout with his team that could’ve still made that night, but it was hardly the first time he’d passed on one for a girl.

“Great! Let’s go then.” 

Kol lingered by their table for a split second before filing in behind Davina.

The whole dancing situation wasn’t tipped in his favor, but for the first time since he agreed to it there was no second guessing it.

* * *

 

 

Kol ended up joining Davina on many non dance related excursions, in between their very much dance related practices. All that resulted in very little free time without the other. 

“Who knew we could share friends,” Kol said once during a crossings of paths with Rebekah. He was picking up Davina because it was raining, and his disapproving sister was talking with Klaus who had reappeared after the Aurora incident. 

“Friends,” she had repeated, accompanying it with a stern glare that dissipated when Davina walked in the room.

Friends, indeed. There were several moments during their practices where he could’ve gone in for the kiss, but Davina always ducked out to change the song before anything happened. And while there was a self admitted lack of forward thinking when it came to women on his part, he knew the negative outcomes outweighed the positive.

Davina hinted at her own interest rarely, but he got the feeling that whatever was going with them was mutual. The issue went by the name of Tim and his very recent breaking up with said girl. 

The issue hardly messed with the dance related side of things, as Kol was recognizing, but with a chime on his phone he was reminded once again of it. 

Davina was going to late because she had to pick some of her things up from her old apartment.

In a not so necessary solution he offered to assist. To speed up the process of course.

“That’s what friends are for,” he assured her after he knocked on her longer apartment door.

On the phone, Davina had said it was fine if he brought a box, and sure enough he had brought a very big cardboard box with him.

“Is Tim not here?” Kol asked, peering around what was a nice but small apartment. Davina shook her head, taking the box from the guy that was there.

“Class,” she explained, grabbing a pile of clothes from a collection of items in their pint sized kitchen. “I haven’t seen him since we broke up though, though I’m pretty sure that’s been purposeful. I don’t mind.” Her tone didn’t betray her words. Much.

“Who wouldn’t want to see you?” He grinned, picking up a picture frame. It looked like it was from a school dance, and Davina was with none other than Tim. They looked incredibly happy, as most high school couples do, with Davina’s signature smile on full display. He looked up to see a smile of lesser degree in response, but still a smile. “You could do that thing where you rip off his side of this photo,” he suggested, passing the frame to her. 

That got him a light laugh, but she was looking at the photo wistfully. 

“No, I’ll be keeping my prom memories fully intact, Tim and all,” she told him. “Prom was a good night,” she muttered to herself, setting the picture in the box. 

“Was it stereotypical as the movies make it? You know, I didn’t have prom back home.”

“Oh, of course,” she said gleefully, like the cliche carried pride. “He did his promposal, we went to some overpriced restaurant with a group of couples the night of, we had a hotel room booked in advance. The whole nine yards.”

“Slow dancing?” Kol inquired, trying to ignore the hotel room comment. Davina was many things, but she hardly talked about sex. She had moved on from that stereotype shout out with ease where he paused.

“Yes, but not so advanced, more his-hands-on-my-hips, swaying type.” She was packing her new box with what looked like the remainder of her things. In went some books, some chargers, and then what would have to be labeled as miscellaneous items. When Kol noticed what she was reaching for, he moved to help her.

“See, that your first red flag. Tim could never dance, and being able to dance is just proper breeding.” 

“Are you saying that any guy who couldn’t properly slow dance, meaning my entire graduating class, was a bad idea,” she pressed, always amused when he said things that tipped off his privileged upbringing. He passed her a coffee table book about different cultures and their take on witchcraft, brushing up against her hand as he did it.

“If only I was there to save you from Tim’s poor dancing earlier, your prom would’ve been much more memorable” he quipped, but there was something behind his voice that made her look up from her meticulous boxing.

His face was centimeters away from her, and without a conscious movement to reach her level. She wasn’t oblivious to the other close calls leading up to that one. Ballroom dance was intimate; the proper form for half the dances were close calls in of themselves.

“Kol,” she warned, barely a whisper. 

“Davina,” he matched her volume, but he wasn’t heeding the warning. He wavered, but ultimately stayed put, eyes watching her intently. The proximity made her avert her gaze, but she had barely moved. 

“I actually like you,” she muttered, knowing her cheeks were flushing pink.

“Well, so do I.”

That was convincing enough. Davina leaned in, no hesitations, and kissed him. She wasn’t expecting anything, but what took her aback was the intensity that Kol responded with. It wasn’t hurried or rushed, but there was something frenzied about it.

Their first kiss and then some.

 

* * *

 

“We’ll do great. You’ll do great,” he said for maybe the fourth time that day, on a day that had hardly started. Davina was doing last minute primping before they took off for the competition while Kol waited outside the bathroom.

“We just need to do really great so I can have a home,” she reminded him of the the source of her nerves through the closed door. They was no doubt they were good, and they danced great together, but they needed to place to get the money she needed. 

“Then we’ll be really great,” he promised as she stepped out, in full costume. The dress wasn’t technically for ballroom dancing, but it was found at a thrift shop and more than did the job. It was black and slinky, with the standard jewels added on last minute. “As great as you look.” 

He placed a quick kiss on her lips, which didn’t have much color on them. Davina figured applying when they were there would be the best choice, considering how things were going.

Lots of kissing, lots of flirting, but not much determining.

Davina wasn’t expecting much, she’d never heard of Kol actually having a girlfriend, but it was weird territory. Tim had become her boyfriend after years of childhood friendship, and in simpler times they almost instantly declared themselves as dating. Actual dating was trickier, especially when your set timeline with a guy was almost through.

She had more important thing to focus on, like dancing well enough, but when they reached the venue she gave herself final distraction.

“This was a lot of fun, and thank you again for helping me out,” she let out almost robotically, when they were putting on their dance shoes. “You can have your free time now, you’ve seen me enough this past week or so to last a lifetime,” she added, trying to make it into something lighthearted, but falling flat. 

“What do you mean?” Kol asked, looking at her as if she was speaking in tongues. 

“I’m saying thank you for helping me out, and sorry for taking over your life momentarily,” she rephrased, wishing he wouldn’t prolong the conversation.

“It’s my free time to waste.” His expression hadn’t changed though. His expression matched what he thinking. He was confused, and she was confused as to why.

“I was just saying my farewell, you know, so we don’t have to deal with it later.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said in response, “you wanted to see that new artsy Cannes movie right?” 

“Oh, I do, I just didn’t think you would want to go.”

That’s when it clicked for Kol. The weird wording and the very concerned Davina were not good signs. 

“Course I do, you’re gonna be there,” he reaffirmed, already having moved from confused to serious. “Tim’s an idiot for never being there for you, even if he did have some conflicts. I on the hand, am very punctual when I want to be. It’s not too late to start being the perfect boyfriend, I’ve never even been a boyfriend.”

“Not to be overly assuming,” she said, innately setting herself to say something presumptive, “but are you saying you want me see me after today’s over.”

“Considering I thought I am going to see you tomorrow, that’s not assuming that’s a highly educated guess,” he replied, grinning in a way he wished Davina was. She was getting bogged down in older assumptions. He leaned in to kiss her, but she placed a hand on his chest to stop him. 

“I don’t think I can officially date someone again, so soon after-” 

“Who said anything about official dating?” he asked, cutting her off. To this Davina just gave him a long look. “Okay, maybe that was me,” he folded, happy to see that Davina had loosened her push to let him lean in. And this time, Davina let him. 

Which is why it was surprising when he cut the kiss short. 

“Right now, I believe our labels are dancers partners. Incredibly attractive, compatible, ones,” he continued, “but still. Winning dance partners.” 

“Second placing dance partners,” she reminded him, noticing the competition getting going around them. She had allowed herself to be distracted a tad longer than expected. 

“And we’ll do just that,” he stated, like it was sure to happen. 

  
Kol was wrong though, they ended up coming in first.


End file.
